The More Excellent Way

The author of Hebrews 11:1 writes, "faith is the substance of things hoped for."  He uses the words faith and hope in the same sentence suggesting a cause and effect relationship.  What this means is that faith inspires hope.  The apostle Paul also uses these same two words, faith and hope, in one sentence found in I Corinthians 13:13 when he writes, "faith, hope, love abide, but the greatest of these is love."  What is implied here is more than cause and effect.  Paul is telling us that love is the very engine by which faith and hope empower our lives.

Think of it like this . . . Faith, without love, grows cold leaving us with little more than theological postulates to debate and argue.  Hope, without love, grows dim leaving us with no vision for God's promises that are yet to be realized.  Faith and hope need love in order to survive.  What Paul wanted the Church at Corinth to learn is what all Christians of any denominational church must learn ... that faith and hope are nothing more than empty words if they are not empowered by a love that calls us to love God, be loved by God, love ourselves and neighbor as self.  It is little wonder Jesus called loving God, self and neighbor he two greatest commandments.  Love teaches us how to value others, even those who do not share our same worldviews on life.

Today, when you are tempted to judge another person for their wrong views, do remember the more excellent way.  This does not mean that you cannot hold views opposite than those who sit across the conference table, or living room table, from you.  What it does mean is that love should inspire the way we have conversations of difference.  Our goal should never be to prove our own righteousness, but to show that we can make life work, in spite of our differences.  To do this requires both respect and an appreciation for what makes us different from each other.

Maybe someday, those who serve our nation in Washington D.C. will follow the more excellent way.  We can always pray, can't we? - I Thessalonians 5:16 - 18

Dennis

Hope and Prayer

C.S. Lewis in his book, Mere Christianity, wrote in his chapter on Hope - "Aim at Heaven and you will get earth thrown in: aim at earth and you will get neither."  The point Lewis made is that most people will do little more than survive day to day living unless there is a hope grounded in something larger than their current reality.  In fact, Lewis states that the Christians who did the most for the present world were those "who thought most of the next."  Perhaps motivation may have come from the Lord's prayer they learned saying, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  Because they had a vision that God wanted this world to become they worked to help make this world a reflection of God's kingdom in heaven. 

The early Christians had a hope for a better world because they aimed for a way of living that transcended the disappointments of their earth.  Think about people you know this week who have had lives rippled by disappointments on this earth; the disappointment of an unexpected loss, the disappointment of broken family ties, the disappointment of friends gone astray.  In moments like this we need to remember the words of the hymn - "what a friend we have in Jesus, what a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer."  The words of this hymn serve to remind us that there is a difference we can make in the lives of others when we pray for them.  Prayer is one of the ways we extend hope, even when we cannot see hope in the circumstance.

This week, aim for heaven by praying that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Do remember, it's a prayer; and even when  we face situations that are beyond our control, we can always pray.  Prayer is powerful and your prayers can help instill hope in another person, not because you tell them you are praying for them, but because you pray for them.  How does that work?  I don't know.  I just know that prayer calls us to look beyond the trials of this earth and into the hope that lies on the other side of prayer.  The hope of heaven is established in prayer, as we pray for a better world.  Perhaps James is right when he writes, "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective."  - James 5:16     Let us pray so that others will have hope.

Dennis

Why membership?  It's a common question people ask today.  Many years ago it was the thing to join an organization and become a member of something.  In fact, you could hardly get considered for a job without consideration being given to your religious and political affiliation.  Today, the fastest growing political constituency are independents, and mainline denomination memberships are in record decline while more people prefer to identify themselves as spiritual without any religious affiliation tacked on.  So, in a world where membership is often overlooked, why membership in a local church?

Barbara Streisand starred in Funny Girl which came out in 1964.  In that movie she sang a song called People.  That song asserts that "people who need people are the luckiest people in the world."  The idea is that people who are not emotionally disconnected from others are lucky people because they both see and value the need to love and be loved.  This is why we need membership in the church.  Christians who need Christians are the most blessed of all people because they see the value and need to love and be loved within the body of Christ.  Paul said as much when he wrote -

"The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'"  - I Corinthians 12:21

The truth is we need each other to make our lives whole.  We need the prayers, fellowship, service, and gifts of others to help us be the best we can be for Christ; and we need corporate worship with others to help us experience Christ in the most complete way together.  The ancient church always believed that the risen Christ was most visibly present and felt only when the fellowship of Christians were gathered together in corporate worship and prayer.  This week take a moment to thank someone for what they have meant in your life this past week, or over the years; then take time to thank God for the community of faith and it's place in your life.

If you don't have a community of faith to call your church home, why not start now.  You can start this Sunday.

Dennis

Love as Jesus Loves

On Sunday, September 9 I preached a sermon on the scripture text of Mark 7: 24 - 30 where Jesus heals the daughter of a Syrophhoenician Greek woman.  During their conversation Jesus says to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."  Jesus was giving reference to a common meal time practice where children were fed before the remaining food scraps were given to the dogs.  What is interesting in this verse, according to the Greek, is that the word Jesus used for "dog" is not the general use of the word which had a derogatory meaning in application.  As Barclay points out, Jesus made use of the diminutive word which is translated as "little pet".  In the Greek langauge, the use of diminutive words conveyed affectionate feelings.  While Jesus first came to the Jews, and she is a Greek, there is a loving affection God has for all people, including the Gentiles.  Jesus tested her faith to discern if she understood the expanse of God's love.  The Greeks, who were good at repartee, was illustrated in this woman's response when she said, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."  Her response is one that God will provide, and whatever crumbs God chooses to give her, they will be enough.  Jesus rewards her telling her the demon has left her daughter.  What really makes this miracle powerful, is the historical setting where the story takes place, in the region of Tyre.  In Joshua 19:28 - 29 the allocation of the land to Joshua's armies was to include the region of Tyre, but Joshua's armies failed to take the land.  Joshua lost the war, but Jesus won the peace, armed not with military might, but with unconditional love.  It is a reminder to the Church that we will never win the world to our Lord through war, but only through love.

But - how can we learn to love as Jesus loves?  It takes a lifetime, but here is discipline to get you started.  Spend two days reading and meditating on the love chapter in I Corinthians 13.  Let the words find a deep place in your heart.  Then, spend two days in prayer, asking God to fill and reshape your heart in the image of his love.  Then, spend two days finding pratical way to show your love to others, especially those hard to love.  On the seventh day, simply give thanks for God's great love and pray for those you have shared his love with on days 5 and 6.  It will take more than a week to learn how to love like Jesus, but this is a good place to begin this journey.  Remember, it's never too late to share w/ someone the great gift of God's love.

- Dennis

Summer Vacation

Tis the season for summer vacations.  What began as the unofficial official beginning of summer with Memorial Day weekend will now continue through Father's Day - through the 4th of July - all the way till we reach Labor Day weekend.  I hope you will take time during these three months to get away and get some much needed rest and relaxation.  But as you do, don't forget to worship in church and keep the Sabbath.  It can be fun attending different churches when you are out of town - out of state - out of country.  My wife and I like to attend other denominations when we are on vacation.  This week I was reading Charles Neal's weekly Monday Morning Reflections and he addressed this topic saying that we always need to keep the Sabbath because worship is the lifeline that keep us sane.  In his blog, he writes, "The reason worship is central to keeping Sabbath is the lifeline that keeps us sane is grounded to the one who created us."  It is always good to stay grounded.  This summer, enjoy your vacation time, but also enjoy the new places where you can go and worship God.  What a wonderful way to meet new brothers and sisters in Christ while keeping your priorities in the right direction.  Have a wonderful and happy summer! - Dennis W. Flaugher 

The Mile Marker of Work

Last Sunday was our 3rd Sunday in Lent and the mile marker we stopped at along our journey with Jesus to the cross was the mile marker of "work", which meant the work of servanthood. According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus came to be the sufering servant who would die on the cross for the sins of the world, that through the shedding of his blood, we find the cleansing power of redemption for our human soul. To follow Jesus, means that we also must share in his suffering, and for us, this is the work of sharing in the sufferings of others.

As you travel your journey this week, be attentive and sensitive to the suffering of others around you. It may be the physical suffering of one recovering from surgery, or the mental and emotional suffering of one who has lost a job, or the spiritual suffering of one who feels disconnected from the God they love and have worshipped for years. What can you do? You can't solve their suffering, but you can help and here are a couple of suggestions. 1st, give your time just to listen. This allows for a validation of their suffering. 2nd, pray for them. They need our prayers.

In a culture where immediate relief is our goal, there is some suffering that just needs time for healing to take place. Just being there so people know you care, and offering your prayers for God's miraculous ways to do what we cannot do for others may do more than all the words of wisdom we feel compelled to share. I pray that God will guide you on your continued journey. Always, let us pray for each other.

Dennis

The Mile Marker of Self-Esteem

Yesterday was the 2nd Sunday in Lent and we arrived at our first mile marker on our Lenten Journey, and that mile marker is Self-Esteem. The scripture text we used was Mark 11:1 - 11 which tells the story of Jesus last week when he entered Jerusalem. The crowd shouted Hosanna and was ready to make him king, but if Jesus wanted to score points with the religious establishment he ruined that opportunity when he chased the money changers out of the Temple in the following verses of the story.

The truth is that Jesus wasn't concerned about his popularity. His sense of self - esteem was never driven by the winds of populist opinion. Jesus was driven by a sense of his own calling from God. His self-esteem was defined by his relationship with his heavenly father and the calling upon his life. As we continue past this first mile marker of our Lenten journey, it would be wise for us to ask, "What is it that drives my sense of self-worth? Is my self-esteem defined by what others have to say about me, or by what God says to me?

I suppose it depends on whose voice you listen to, doesn't it. May God give us all "ears to hear" his voice as we continue this journey.

Dennis